Opportunity for Hemel residents to quiz hospital doctors and nurses on plans for new services

Senior doctors are swapping their stethoscopes for laptops as they embark on a series of briefings, aimed at lifting the lid on plans for hospital services in west Hertfordshire.

They will be joined by nurse leaders and service managers who are keen to share their thinking on a new set of ideas announced by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The extensive programme of public meetings is part of the Your Care, Your Views public engagement programme launched by the trust to gather feedback on the redesign of its services.

Proposals for new ways to provide care are being developed alongside rebuild and refurbishment plans.

The starting point is for each of the three hospital sites to have a more clearly defined role.

Emergency, inpatient and complex care will remain at Watford; Hemel Hempstead will be the centre for planned medical care and long term conditions and St Albans City hospital will be the centre for planned surgery and cancer care.

Urgent care services and some outpatient services will be provided at all three sites.

The Your Care, Your Views public engagement meeting programme includes presentations by consultants and service managers from a wide range of specialties across all three hospital sites.

Clinical teams will be sharing their perspective and insight into the proposals for new ways to provide care across many key areas including emergency care, women’s and children’s services, diagnostics, planned surgical care, cancer services and critical care.

The meetings, most of which start at 6pm, will run from today (8 March) until Tuesday, March 23, and include time for the public to ask questions.

All events will take place online. The full meeting programme is available on the trust’s website.

Chief Medical Officer Mike van der Watt said: “Our proposals for new ways to deliver care have benefitted from extensive input from many clinical staff across our sites.

"We are delighted to offer such a comprehensive programme of events so that patients, carers, local people and staff have the chance to hear from our clinical teams about our plans.

"I am also grateful to the clinical staff leading these meetings who are giving up their time, despite the pressures of the pandemic, to share their perspective.”

The Trust has also issued a survey to find out what people think of its ideas and has also offered to give presentations to local community groups.